“We’re a really bad team right now,” [Red Sox] center field Johnny Damon said Wednesday night after a 6-1 loss to Toronto, the Red Sox’s sixth in nine games. “We need to win tomorrow. It’s a must win. We need to get back to that stage where every game is a must win instead of just saying ‘Oh, we’ll be OK.’ It’s a different year.”

“We were in trouble on that West Coast swing, and we were in trouble these first two games here,” Damon said. “New York’s climbing. We have to start doing something or it could be a long summer. … We have a big series this weekend. Whether or not the Yankees are going to overtake us or not, we can’t let that happen.”